Read on for the lowdown on the clash with Spurs.
Son returns
Heung-Min Son, who made 87 appearances and scored 29 goals for Bayer 04 from 2013 to 2015, returns to his old stomping ground with Tottenham. The South Korean has already netted four goals in the Premier League this term plus the winner in the 1-0 victory away to CSKA Moscow in the Champions League. And he was recently the first Asian footballer to be named player of the month in England. “It’s a special game for me and I was excited when I heard about the draw. I had a good time at Leverkusen and I’m looking forward to meeting my old teammates,” said Sonny.
High-octane fixture
The game between Bayer 04 and Spurs promises to be a high quality encounter. Tottenham are the only team in the Premier League, to be unbeaten after eight games this term. And the approach of both teams suggests this should be a high-octane fixture. The Spurs coach Mauricio Pochettino expressed his respect for his fellow manager Roger Schmidt. “I admire him a lot and I’ve seen a lot of his games from his time at Salzburg and Leverkusen. We both favour a similar style: aggressive, full of running and always looking to play on the front foot. This could be a very entertaining fixture for the fans,” said the Argentinian at the pre-match press conference.
Berbo scores against old club
Bayer 04 and Tottenham have met once before on the European stage. Spurs won 1-0 at the BayArena in the group stage of the UEFA Cup in 2006/07 – thanks to a strike from Dimitar Berbatov, who spent five years at the Werkself before his move to London. The Bulgaria striker did not celebrate his goal out of respect for the Bayer 04 fans and his former teammates. There is certainly room for improvement in Bayer 04’s record in matches against English teams: Leverkusen have only won three of the 19 European games against opposition from the Premier League with the other matches ending in twelve defeats and four draws. However, Tottenham have only won four of the last 13 European encounters with teams from Germany (plus two draws and seven defeats).
Fortress BayArena
The Werkself are particularly resilient at home in Europe and have not lost on home turf in nearly two years. The last defeat on the international stage was a 1-0 reverse against AS Monaco in November 2014. Since then, Bayer 04 have clocked up four wins and four draws. The club record at Leverkusen is nine home games unbeaten on the bounce (between 1995 and 1998).
Injury update
In addition to the England striker Harry Kane (ankle problem) Spurs are also likely to be without the services of Belgium defender Toby Alderweireld due to a knee injury. Bayer 04 have three long-term absentees in Karim Bellarabi, Joel Pohjanpalo and Vladlen Yurchenko. It remains to be seen whether the skipper Lars Bender will be fit for tonight’s match.
No to Racism
UEFA are once again running their ‘No to Racism’ campaign against discrimination supported by the stars and top clubs – for the first time in the UEFA Women’s Champions League as well. The campaign runs from 6 to 20 October at 60 matches in the main UEFA club competitions with the aim of combating discrimination and celebrating diversity. Anti racism ads will be broadcast during half-time at the various stadiums. All teams will come onto the pitch accompanied by children wearing t-shirts bearing the slogan ‘No to Racism’ and the two captains will wear special armbands.
Tickets still available
There are still some tickets available for the big match against Spurs in Europe’s premier club competition. The ticket offices at the BayArena are open tonight. Category IV (€42, concessions €28) and category II (€60, concessions €44) tickets are available in the Leverkusen section in blocks B1, F6 and F8.
There won’t just be plenty of excitement on the pitch as Bayer 04 host Borussia Dortmund at the BayArena at 18:30 CET on Saturday. Outside the stadium there will be collection points for food donations to the Leverkusen Foodbank, which will also benefit from the profits of a jersey raffle in the Fanwelt afterwards. There will also be a minute’s silence before kick-off following the passing of long-time Werkself player Dieter Herzog, before two fan clubs are honoured for their decades-long support at half-time and fans receive a talk about Orange Day, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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Bayer 04 go into the first of two successive clashes with Borussia Dortmund boosted by their Champions League win at Manchester City. Ahead of the Bundesliga top match on Saturday, 29 November (kick-off: 18:30 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the tight schedule, BVB's strengths and returning squad members.
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Borussia Dortmund are doing very well in terms of points and results in the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League. BVB have only suffered two defeats to date this term. Now coach Niko Kovac's team are away to the Werkself on Saturday night, 29 November (kick-off: 18:30 CET) in the top match on Bundesliga matchday 12. The two teams meet again three days later in the DFB Pokal Round of 16 tie in Dortmund. Two very competitive encounters are on the cards. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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The Bayer 04 Women clcoked up a 3-2 win in a friendly against Twente Enschede on Thursday afternoon in the last international break of 2025. In drizzle, Lilla Turanyi (16’), Kristin Kögel (65’) and Paulina Bartz (69’) scored the goals for the Werkself against the Dutch Eredivisie Vrouwen leaders, who are still unbeaten in the league.
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